Daniel Chapter 9

It's been a while since we've been in the book of Daniel. We're going to return to Daniel. Last time I was looking at my notes, last time we were in the book of Daniel was back in September prior to the feast. So I thought what I'd do is give you just a little, take a moment and go through a little bit of what we've been covering to this point. We've gone through the first six chapters pretty much verse by verse. There have been a couple of places where we've done a little survey work, but first six chapters of Daniel, we've gone pretty much right down the line. Chapter 7 of the book of Daniel, we combined that when we were going through chapter 2 because the material was very similar, talking about the four world-willing kingdoms, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. And so I covered that with chapter 2. Chapter 8, I was very narrow in terms of what I was trying to accomplish with chapter 8 of the book of Daniel. The chapter does deal with the Persian and Greek empires. That material in some ways was covered in previous chapters. But what I wanted to cover in that chapter was the discussion of the little horn, which is symbolic of something we see in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, which we call the man of sin, the antichrist. So I spent some time going through that in chapter 8, and that's all I'm going to do with chapter 8. That brings us to chapter 9, Daniel chapter 9. Daniel chapter 9 contains one of the most interesting, one of the most exciting and talked about prophecies in all of Scripture. It's a very specific prophecy with a fixed beginning. It was given 500 years prior to Christ's birth. This prophecy, known as the 70 weeks prophecy, was given. In that prophecy, we will see the year Christ would be baptized, the year He would begin His earthly ministry. We will see how long His ministry would be, when that ministry would come to an end. We will also see the day of the week in which He would be crucified. And of course, one of the takeaways we get from all of that is that helps us debunk the Good Friday, Easter Sunday tradition from a Biblical perspective, as we take a good look at this ninth chapter of Daniel and the 70 weeks prophecy. Some notes to keep in mind as we go through this chapter, and we're going to be very specific with this chapter as well. Just the last four verses of the chapter deal with the 70 weeks prophecy. We'll cover a few other verses, but not too many more. But we want to keep in mind that the Messiah is the central figure of this prophecy, that Jerusalem is the location for the prophecy. And there's also something called a day for a year, which we need to appreciate as we are looking at this particular prophecy. Let's begin by covering that over here in Numbers 14.

It's very important that we understand this. Numbers 14 is a vital piece of information for understanding this particular prophecy. Numbers 14 and verse 34. Numbers 14 and verse 34. According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, 40 days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely 40 years, and you shall know my rejection. So here we see a very important principle in Bible prophecy called the day for a year principle. If you turn over to the book of Ezekiel, we'll see where this is confirmed over in the book of Ezekiel, Ezekiel 4.

Ezekiel 4, verses 4 through 6. Ezekiel 4, 4.

Now today, brethren, it's very easy with this particular subject to get very deep into the weeds. It's very easy to get rid of a lot of detail. We are going to get into some detail. But I like to refer to this as my Reader's Digest version of the discussion. We're going to get into what I feel is the most critical detail. If you would like to study this subject in a much deeper vein, we have got an 18-page study paper on our website.

Just go to our member's website, look under study papers, and you'll find a 70-weeks prophecy. Also, we're on our Bible reading program. If you go to the book of Daniel, you'll click on chapter 9. There is a briefer discussion covering the high points at that location as well.

I would like you to turn, and this is all some background information, let's go to the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter 25. This chapter of Jeremiah was written right about the time that Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah, 605 BC. So when Daniel was going into captivity, Jeremiah wrote this prophecy. Now, that's going to become important in a few minutes, because just like you and I, where we want to find out where are we in Bible prophecy, Daniel was in the same situation.

He remembered and knew about this prophecy in Jeremiah. And he was wondering, where do I fit into all this? So let's take a look at Jeremiah chapter 25, verses 11 and 12. After talking about the sins of the land, verse 11, And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I'll punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, says the Lord, and I'll make it a perpetual desolation.

So here we see where Jeremiah is talking about how the Jews would be conquered as a people, go as captives in the Babylon, be there for seventy years, and then when that seventy years is completed, Babylon itself will be conquered. Now if we go over to the book of Daniel, Daniel chapter 9. When is this chapter taking place? The year for this particular chapter would be 538 BC.

Five thirty-eight BC. This is the first year of the reign of Darius or Darius of the Medes. We believe that Cyrus was the king over the entire Persian Empire, but that Cyrus delegated Babylon as a province for Darius or Darius to rule over. This would have been in 538 BC. And so here Daniel's taking a look at how many years he has known about this prophecy. This prophecy is about 67 years old at this point. He's thinking, you know, we're right around the corner from when the nations that were spoken of by Jeremiah would take place. And where am I? Where are we with prophecy here? Seventy years.

Seventy years has come and gone. We're now into another kingdom. So he's wondering what's taking place, just like you and I would wonder. Okay, chapter 9, verse 1 of Daniel. In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans. Notice he wasn't made king over everything.

He was made king over this one particular province. Cyrus was the king over everything. Well, that will become important in a little bit. In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, which we just read, that he would accomplish seven years in the desolations of Jerusalem. So again, here we see where Daniel is trying to determine what's going on. Where is he at this point? Where is Bible prophecy at this point?

Now, let's add a... put a... put a marker there if you'd like. Let's go to the book of Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 44. Isaiah chapter 44. Last verse of chapter 44, which is verse 28. Isaiah 44, 28. Verse 28. Who says of Cyrus? Who says of Cyrus? Now, this prophecy, brethren, is 150 years prior to this event taking place. 150 years prior. We know the prophecy is one of the proofs of the Bible. It's one of the proofs of God. Who says of Cyrus?

He is my shepherd, and he shall perform my pleasure, saying to Jerusalem, You shall be built, and to the temple your foundation shall be laid. So we see in the book of Jeremiah, 70 years will be coming for desolation. That time has come and gone. We see here in Isaiah that Cyrus is going to allow some of God's people to go back and do some building in Jerusalem.

Cyrus is named by name. Daniel now is in a kingdom. Although he's in Babylon, you know, in Darius's working there in Babylon as the ruler of Babylon, Cyrus is king over the entire Persian Empire. And so Daniel's looking at all this and saying, you know, I think we should be ready for something here. Let's go back to Daniel 9. Daniel 9. And we want to look at verse 13. Daniel 9.13. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us.

Talking about the 70 years plus of enslavement. As it's written in the law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us, yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn to our iniquities and understand your truth. So Daniel, one of the three most righteous men who's ever lived, says, you know, we want to go back to the Holy Land.

We want to see the prophecy fulfilled that we saw there in Isaiah. He understood that. But he realizes that the people need to still show repentance, which he feels they've not done. He understands there will be no redemption or return without national repentance. He realizes all too well the frame of mind the people are in. And of course, brethren, one of the things you want to take note of here, and we're not going to go through verses 3 through 19.

Verses 3 through 19 is a prayer of repentance. It's Daniel's prayer of repentance. There are times in all of our lives when we want to come before God in deep humility and repentance. Hopefully every day, in one sense. But certainly there are various times in our life that seem to be more and needful in terms of something we really feel we've really come short of God's glory.

We really want to pour out our hearts. We do it on a daily basis. But still, there are other times that just seems to be much more in our hearts and minds. And so we look many times at David's prayer in Psalm 51.

But this is another good example. Daniel's prayer in chapter 9. Daniel's prayer of repentance in chapter 9, verses 3 through 19. Daniel here resolves to intercede for the nation. Again, he was one of the three most righteous people who have ever lived. He, along with Noah and Job. And it's interesting to note here that this man does not try to distance himself from the sins of the nation.

He puts himself right in there. He talks about the sins of our nation. He includes himself. He realizes he's not without sin. And again, brethren, I've said to you on a number of occasions. The Bible is not hesitant to talk about the failings of its heros or heroines. And yet, the Bible has not one word. If you can find it, please show me. But I've not seen a single word in the Scriptures to talk about Daniel's failings. Do we believe he was sinless?

Of course not. Was he a mortal man? Was he clay? Absolutely. Did he have his sinful nature? Of course he did. And yet, here's a man that was one of the three most righteous, and he's going before God, saying, you know, we as a nation need to repent. I need to make sure I'm right with God. As I've mentioned a number of times, this book of Daniel is not just a book of prophecy. It's a book of Christian living. And we see a philosophy here that we need to fully appreciate. Okay. Let's drop down now to Daniel 9, verse 20.

Want to start taking a look at this a little more verse by verse at this point. Daniel 9, verse 20. Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God, for the holy mountain of my God, yes, while I was speaking in prayer of the man Gabriel. This is the archangel, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in a vision at the beginning. He's seen him a couple of times in this book. Being caused to fly swiftly reached me about the time of the evening offering. And he informed me and talked with me and said, oh, Daniel, I've now come forth to give you skill to understand, to understand the prophecy we were about to look at.

At the beginning of your supplications the command went out and I've come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved, therefore consider the matter and understand the vision. Again, a number of Christian living points for us to consider here in verses 20 through 23. Before Daniel even finishes his prayer, God knows his heart. God dispatches an archangel to come and bring a message to Daniel. Now, I find this as a minister of the gospel. I find this to be quite interesting.

I can't tell you the number of times people have told me where they've asked for an anointed cloth. You know, they've sent in an email or they've got on the phone, Mr. D., can you please send me a cloth? And in some cases, as people were thinking, I'm going to call Mr. D. or whoever the minister may be, not just me, other ministers of the gospel. Or maybe Mr. Armstrong, as he wrote in his autobiography, there was one lady that was so ill and she was taking her anointed cloth, and this was back in the days we had, you know, just Mr.

Armstrong as a minister. And she was taking her request for a cloth out to the mailbox. She put it in the mailbox, put the flag up, and as she was walking back to her home, she was healed. Here we see the same kind of thing. God looks at our hearts.

Thankfully, God is not reliant on the U.S. mail system. I don't know where you live or wherever I've lived. I've not been wholly satisfied, and I hope we don't have any mail carriers in the room. But I've not been wholly satisfied with the service that I've been rendered. I remember living back in Michigan, I was subscribing to the U.S.A. today newspaper, and that would come in the mail. And I was finding, after a while, that I was only getting maybe one paper out of five. So I called my post office, and they can put a tracer on those things, where they actually audit, you know, my carrier, find out what's going on. And every time I asked for an audit, I was getting my newspaper every day. Days I wasn't asking for the audit from time to time, you know, one a week. So either somebody was reading my paper or something was going on. But here the point is that God sees Daniel's heart. He sees where this man is. He sees that he is praying here in the evening. There is no more temple for him to have a morning or an evening sacrifice. And so what does he do? He prays in the morning. He prays in the evening. He, that is his sacrifice. Remember a couple of weeks ago, we went through the burnt offering? Talked about the burnt offering, how that offering was wholly consumed, a total dedication before God, and how the animal, the smoke would rise to heaven like our prayers rise to God. That's what this man is doing. He is going before God in earnest prayer at the time of the evening sacrifice. I want to read a quote here from Nelson Bible, Nelson Study Bible. And I quote, Because a temple was in ruins, regular daily sacrifices were impossible. Nevertheless, Daniel observed the ritual of worship by praying at the hour of the evening sacrifice. Daniel's prayer was his evening offering, was his evening offering, was his burnt offering. Something for us to keep in mind. And as we see from chapter 6, I'm not going to go back there, but in chapter 6 of Daniel, verse 10, he actually prayed three times a day, just like David did. We see that in Psalm 55, verse 17. Psalm 55, 17. Not going to turn there as well.

Okay, so here we have this material leading up to the last four verses of the chapter, 24, 25, 26, and 27. Again, known as the 70 weeks prophecy. And brethren, again, the takeaway from this is very important for us. Very important. You know, you heard in Mr. Emergent's sermon that earlier today, you know, people that work asking you questions. Where do you stand? This gives us a lot of ammunition. Why don't you understand or keep Good Friday or go to church on Easter Sunday? Why don't you do those things? And you ask people, why do you keep Sunday as opposed to the Sabbath? Well, I keep Sunday because Jesus Christ is resurrected on a Sunday. Well, if that's the reasoning, then this particular prophecy we're going to look at will show you that Jesus Christ was resurrected on a weekly Sabbath.

And if we're going to use the reasoning, we're going to come to church on the day that Christ was resurrected, and we come to church then on Sabbath. So a tremendous takeaway here. A tremendous takeaway.

Okay, verse 24.

Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. A lot of things happening in verse 24. God is telling Daniel there are seventy-seventies, seventy-seventies in this prophecy. There's a seven, there is a sixty-two, and there's a one. All those three comprise of seventy weeks. Seven weeks, sixty-two weeks, one week. We're going to go through all of that in just a few minutes. I'd like to read you what Gleason Archer writes in the Expositor's Bible commentary. Expositor's is one of the great commentaries that you can take a look at and use for your study aids. And I quote, this is Gleason Archer of the Expositor's Bible commentary.

The prophecy of the seventy weeks in Daniel 9, verses 24-27 is one of the most remarkable, long-range predictions in the entire Bible. It is by all odds one of the most widely discussed by students and scholars of every persuasion within the spectrum of the Christian church. And yet, when it is carefully examined in light of all the relevant data and history, and the information available from other parts of Scripture is quite clearly an accurate prediction of the time of Christ's coming Advent and a preview of the thrilling final act of the drama of human history before that Advent. So, we've got the first portion of verse 24. It talks about seventy weeks. You know, you probably have a little reference in your center, reference in your Bible, talking about seventy-sevenths. And then it talks about various things that are going to be accomplished. And there are six things here that we're going to see that are going to be accomplished. Six results. And remember, this prophecy is a prophecy where Jesus Christ is a central figure. Therefore, these six results are in regard to Jesus Christ.

Number one. It says to finish the transgression. To finish the transgression. This actually refers to Jesus Christ's first and second comings. Almost virtually all six of these deal with the second coming of Jesus Christ and beyond. Some of these also deal with his first coming. This first portion here deals with both. Jesus Christ dealt with sin at his first coming. He became our Savior. He gave his life as a sacrifice. So, 33 and a half years of living as a sacrifice. His torture and crucifixion as a sacrifice. So, the ability to bring sin to an end had begun. Now, obviously, sin is still prevalent today. And so, we're looking at the second coming of Jesus Christ, the establishment of the kingdom of God, going past the millennium, the great white throne judgment period, to the time when all of us, those still living, will be spirit beings, and there is no sin. To finish the transgression. Secondly, it says in verse 24, to make an end of sins. To make an end of sins. The word sins here comes from the word or the idea of missing the mark. Missing the mark. We know that Christ came as the Messiah to direct the people of God toward true worship of the true God, obeying the commandments of God, and not missing the mark by sinning.

The whole process began when Jesus Christ gave his life for us. And again, this is something that will take place even more at the end of the age, after the end of the age. Number three, to make reconciliation for iniquity. Certainly that's taken place in our lives. We come before God on Passover evening as a memorial for what Christ has done for us every year, once a year, realizing we are at one because our sins have been forgiven. Now that's true for us today. It's not true for, generally speaking, all of humanity. And plenty of people have lived and died, billions of people have lived and died, who that's now true for. So again, this is something that was begun with Christ's first coming, and it keeps on marching into the future.

Number four, to bring in everlasting righteousness.

Talking about the, not just a temporary going God's way, but a permanent going of God's way, bringing in everlasting righteousness. So that is much more talking about the second coming of Christ and beyond.

Number five, in Daniel 9, verse 24, to seal up vision and prophecy. This is a reference to a time in the future when prophets and prophecies are no longer needed. It's all been fulfilled. So again, this is looking more toward the second, this is actually looking at the second coming of Christ and beyond, as we march through the millennium and the Great White Throne Judgment period and beyond that. And lastly, number six, to anoint the holy of holies. To anoint the holy of holies. This may refer to the temple that will exist after Christ returned, as described in later chapters of the book of Ezekiel.

It also, we've thought and, you know, we've surmised, and again, we've speculated, to use that word, that this might even refer to Jesus Christ Himself to anoint the holy of holies, as Jesus Christ is our Lord and Master, your King. So, brethren, what we have here to this point, as we're looking at the 70 weeks prophecy, is we have a relatively detailed, comprehensive plan leading from Daniel's day past the millennium and the Great White Throne Judgment periods, all in four verses, and we've only gone through the first verse here. So there's a lot of meat here. And again, if you want to take this apart more in detail, there's that 18-page study paper that goes through a lot of different ideas, different things. And again, I'm trying to just make this as simple as I can so it's understandable, kind of just give you the more salient points on this. But if you want to get into the deep weeds, feel free. Okay, Daniel 9, verse 25. Verse 25. So this gives us, remember I said a few moments ago that there are three segments to this 70-week prophecy. We've got a seven-week period, a 62-week period, and a one-week period. Here we have two of those installments, the seven and the 62, giving us 69 weeks.

Times seven gives you 483 consecutive years, in this case. 483 consecutive years. Now, in verse 25, the very beginning, it says, Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command, from the going forth of the decree, you go forth from that decree 483 years and something very significant is going to take place. Now, here's where we get into the weeds. There were four decrees. Okay, four of them. Which one do we use? Let's in our Bibles turn to 2 Chronicles chapter 36.

2 Chronicles chapter 36.

Verses 22 and 23.

Now, in the first year of Cyrus, the king of Persia, the word of the Lord by mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled. The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia. So he made a proclamation. He made a decree throughout his kingdom. And also put it in writing, he's saying, Thus, as Cyrus, king of the king of Persia, all the kingdoms of the earth and the Lord God of heaven has given me, He's commanded me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah, who is among you of all of his people. May the Lord his God be with him and let him go up. So here we've got the first decree that was given. And this was given in 538 B.C. Vital piece of information. Vital piece of information. 538 B.C. Is this the date from which we march forward 483 years? Well, let's take a look at the other decrees before we make that determination. Go forward a little bit in the book of Ezra, Ezra chapter 6. We're going to take a look at the second decree.

Ezra chapter 6 verses 1 through 3. Then King Darius issued a decree and a search was made in the archives where the treasures were stored in Babylon. And at Archimetha in the palace that is in the province of Media, a scroll was found and then a record was written thus. So this is actually a restatement of this first decree, but we're going to call this a second decree. In verse 3, in the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a decree concerning the house of God of Jerusalem. Let the house be rebuilt, the palace where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations of it be firmly laid, and so forth. This restatement takes place in 520 B.C. 520 B.C. Do we move forward 483 years from this date to see something very significant regarding Jesus Christ?

I'm going to skip the order here. It might tip my hand as to which of the four we're going to use for the anchor. But let's look at the fourth decree. If you turn over to Nehemiah chapter 1. Nehemiah chapter 1.

Actually, let's look at Nehemiah chapter 2, starting in verse 1. Nehemiah chapter 2, verse 1. And it came to pass in the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Hadzawaris, King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. And I had never been sad in his presence before, talking about Nehemiah. Therefore the king said to me, Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart, so I became dreadfully afraid. And said to the king, May the king live forever. Long live the king. Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the palace of my father's tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire? Then the king said to me, What do you request? And so I prayed to the God of heaven. Notice a very quick prayer here. And then I said to the king, again, Christian living principle. Bible says, you know, when you're before kings and magistrates and various people in authority, don't worry what you're going to say. Simply pray to God, God will inspire you. That's what's taking place right here. And I said to the king, If it pleases the king, and if your servant is found favoring your son, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my father's tombs, that I might rebuild it. Then the king said to me, The queen also, sitting beside him, How long will your journey be? And when will you return? So please the king to send me. And I set him a time. So here we see a fourth decree, the decree of Artaxerxes. This took place in 444 B.C. 444 B.C. Let's take a look now at the third decree. We go back to the book of Ezra, this time Ezra, chapter 7.

I told you we'd be getting into the weeds. Ezra, chapter 7, verse 1. Verse 1.

Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, Ezra, the son of Assyria, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, dropped down a little bit to verse 11. This is the copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest, described expert in the words of the commandments of the Lord and of the statutes to Israel. And here's the writing. Artaxerxes, king of kings to Ezra the priest, described the law of God of the heavens, perfect peace and so forth. I issue a decree that all those of the people of Israel and the priests of Levites in my realm who volunteered to go up to Jerusalem may go with you.

So here we have another decree.

This decree takes place in 457 B.C. 457 B.C. So we see there are four decrees here. Which of these decrees makes any sense in terms of its relationship to Jesus Christ?

Decree number one. We're looking for now as a starting point for the 70 weeks prophecy. Decree number one, 538 B.C. If you go forward in time, 483 years, 69 weeks, you come to 55 B.C.

Does something special happen about Jesus Christ in 55 B.C.? No. Not born yet. Decree number two, 520 B.C. You move forward in time, 483 years, you come to 37 B.C. Again, something relevant to Christ? No. Christ is not on the scene at this point, not as a human being. Decree number four. Again, skipping number three. Decree number four was in 444 B.C. You go ahead in time, you come, and when you add one year, going from B.C. to A.D., you come to 40 A.D.

Christ's ministry is over. He's been resurrected by this point.

But we go back to that third decree that was given in 457 B.C. We go forward in time, 483 years, allowing for that extra year when you go from B.C. to A.D. And what do you come to? You come to 27 A.D.

What happened in 27 A.D.? In 27 A.D., Jesus Christ was baptized. In 27 A.D., Jesus Christ began His earthly ministry. We've taught as a church for years and years and years since the days of early Mr. Armstrong that Christ was crucified in the spring of 31 A.D. after three and a half years of His ministry. We'll get into that in a little bit as well. So His baptism and His earthly ministry began in 27 A.D. So this prophecy reveals the date of Christ's baptism, the date He begins His ministry. And this is the starting point for a number of things. Let's go over to Luke 3.

Luke 3.

Luke 3 and verse 15. It says, He seems to be a great guy. Is this the guy? So we understand where they're coming from. We understand the Scriptures better with the frame of mind of the people. Now, unfortunately, their frame of mind is they were looking for Christ's second coming. They were overlooking those Scriptures talking about His first coming, and they thought He was going to come to break off the Roman yoke and establish the kingdom of God. And so this is why we understand where the disciples were coming from as well. They understood the prophecy, but not that certain time order of the prophecy, in terms of Grace, First, and Second Coming.

Going back to Daniel now, Daniel, chapter 9. Let's move on into prophecy.

Daniel, chapter 9, verse 25. No, therefore, and understand that from the going forth of the decree of the Dequean, to restore and build Jerusalem, to the Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks, and the street shall be built again and the wall even in troublesome times. So we combine both of those periods, the seven and the sixty-two, to give us sixty-nine times seven, gave us that 483 years. But there's something that we need to appreciate about the seven weeks. Why is seven weeks even discussed? Seven weeks was the time it took to do this rebuilding, the time it took to reconstruct the city, both the walls, the interior appointments of the city, 49 years. So shortly after 400 BC, the walls, the defensive mode, all the streets and buildings behind those walls were restored. That's where that seven weeks comes in, 49 years. That takes place then. We now move to verse 26 of Daniel chapter 9. And after sixty-two weeks, this is including the seven weeks before, so it's seven weeks plus the sixty-two weeks, after the sixty-two weeks, Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself. And the people of the prince who was to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary, and the end of it shall be with the flood, until the end of the war desolations are determined. Once again, a lot happening here in verse 26. It says, and after the sixty-two weeks, Messiah shall be cut off.

Now, does this mean that the Messiah is going to be cut off immediately? Because we saw just a few moments ago that this brought us to 27 AD. Did Jesus Christ die in 27 AD? No. But did Jesus Christ die after that period of time? Yes, He did. He died three and a half years later. So it is true that He was going to be cut off. Now, we're going to get to the seventieth week that talks about that in the next verse, verse 27. But let's look at verse 26 first. It says, He was going to be cut off. We're going to see that He's cut off in the middle of the seventieth week, but not for Himself. Again, this is a prophecy about Jesus Christ, our Savior, that He's cut off not for Himself. He was not a sinner. He was cut off for us.

And it talks about, and the Prince who is to come. Now, this Prince who comes brings destruction. So it's not talking about the Prince of Peace here. So who is this Prince who is to come? The Prince, we feel historically, would be Titus, commander of the Roman troops, who laid siege and sack to Jerusalem in 70 AD. That's the Prince that is being spoken of here.

The flood is Titus' army. We see in Revelation 12, we're not going to turn there, Revelation 12 and verse 15, where Revelation 12 is a discussion about the Church of God, and how Satan sends a flood after the Church. That flood represents an army. And so here, in verse 26, we're looking at Titus' army in 70 AD, and the destruction it brings to Jerusalem. And then it talks about the desolation, the abomination of desolation. In our minds, we tend to want to think about Antiochus Epiphanes, and that's good. But brethren, historically, in looking into the future, three abominations of desolation. You've got Antiochus Epiphanes in 168 BC. That's the first. We've got Titus here in 70 AD. And then we have the end time Antichrist in that abomination of desolation, which is spoken of there in Matthew 24. Moving on now to the last verse, verse 27.

Then he, talking about Jesus Christ, shall confirm a covenant, a new covenant, with many for one week. So now we're into the 70th week, the one. We've gone through the seven, the 62, and now we're into the final one. Seven years. He shall confirm a covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week, after three and a half of those seven years, Jesus Christ is crucified.

And brethren, isn't it also interesting? What day, as a dual aspect of prophecy in our understanding, what day is the middle of the week? Well, you've got Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, there's three days. Wednesday in the middle, then Thursday, Friday, Saturday, three and a half. Wednesday is in the middle. Jesus Christ, according to prophecy, was not crucified on Good Friday. Jesus Christ was killed, as we've always proclaimed, on the correct Passover. On the correct Passover. So here we see a discussion about when Jesus Christ was to die on Wednesday of that Passover week. On Wednesday of that Passover week. Let's take a look at John chapter 9 for a moment. Nineteen. John 19.

John chapter 19 verse 31.

Therefore, because it was the preparation day, now those in the world and those who really should know better, those people who are Bible scholars should know better, and they tell you the preparation, well, Saturday is the Sabbath, and so the preparation day is Friday. This is where they get the, you know, Good Friday thing. And yet, as you know, that wasn't the case this week. Therefore, because it was the preparation day, the holy day was on Thursday. That made Wednesday the prep day. That the body should not remain in the cross on the Sabbath, for that Sabbath was a high day. Not just any old weekly Sabbath, it was an annual Sabbath. The Jews asked Pilate their legs might be broken, that they might be taken away. So again, brethren, we're looking at this 70-weeks prophecy, and it gives credibility.

It gives substance to our beliefs. Our beliefs are biblically based on crucifixion week. Tuesday, they partook of the Passover meal in the evening. The New Covenant symbols were taken. Jesus Christ was betrayed and arrested. Wednesday, Jesus Christ is crucified, middle of the week.

And he dies around 3 p.m. Wednesday was a prep day, not for an annual, not a weekly Sabbath. Thursday was an annual high day, the first day of our 11 bread. Friday, the women brought spices to prepare Christ's body. Saturday, Jesus Christ arose from the grave near sunset, but it was still on the Sabbath.

72 hours later.

Sunday, the women came, and they found the tomb empty. He had already arisen. He was already gone.

A couple of final thoughts here. Let's take a look back at Daniel 9.

So we see in the middle of the week, Jesus Christ is crucified. Three and a half years.

But brethren, we still have a half a week to go. What do we do with the second half of that 70th week? The first half took place in Christ's lifetime. The second part takes place at the end of the age.

Let's read verse 27 from the beginning. He shall confer...and he, Christ, shall confirm a covenant, a new covenant, with many for one week, but in the middle of the week, after three and a half years, he shall bring an end to the sacrifice and offering. Christ fulfills all the Old Testament sacrifices and offerings. Not that we don't have to do it. We talked about that a couple of weeks ago with the burnt offering. And on the wing of abomination shall be one who makes desolate. Now we're looking at the second portion of that last 70th week. This is an end time. At the end of the age, an abomination of desolation will be set up.

So we see at the end...we don't have the...I don't want to take the time right now to go through all the various scriptures talking about the reinstatement of sacrifices in our day to day. And then those sacrifices being taken away and stopped...that's another subject all to itself.

Even until the consummation...the consummation is talking about Jesus Christ's Second Coming.

Jesus Christ's Second Coming. So our understanding of this 70 week is divided into two halves. The first three and a half years begin the length of Christ's human ministry. His sacrifice, His resurrection...the last three and a half years are waiting to the end of our day to day. This is where there are those who believe the church will be going to a place of safety.

Maybe we do. I don't know. I'm open-minded on that subject. I don't know that the scriptures...I don't think we can come down on that iron-clad one way or another. But this is where people believe that we will have three and a half years, much like the Apostle Paul had time in a rabies with Jesus Christ, that we would be three and a half years with Jesus Christ someplace. And he teaches us because after that three and a half years, you know, the kingdom is here. We've got our jobs to do. The other alternative idea is that Christ, after His second coming, will give us three and a half years of intensive training after His second coming, beginning of the millennium. That is the church of stance on that. Brethren, today we've taken a look at Daniel 9. I've tried to go through this as simply as possible. It's a very detailed discussion. An 18-page study paper is available to you if you want to look at that. I think what we've gone through here today are the more salient points. If you've got questions, feel free to either ask me afterwards or see the study paper.